Promotion and relegation matters may have already been settled heading into the final day of the Championship season, but the battle for two play-off spots provided plenty of twists and turns. Coventry City and Millwall sat fifth and sixth respectively at the start of the day, but Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion all harboured hopes of gatecrashing the top six. Coventry travelled to fourth-placed Middlesbrough and Millwall entertained Blackburn in the last round of fixtures, while Sunderland faced a trip to Preston and West Brom went to Swansea. With the ultimate reward of a trip to Wembley on Saturday, 27 May and promotion to the Premier League at stake, the pressure appeared to do different things to different teams.
Millwall made the perfect start in front of a raucous crowd at The Den, with Duncan Watmore’s eighth-minute opener off the underside of the crossbar giving them control of their destiny. The Lions soon had a second disallowed for offside and, after Coventry took the lead at Middlesbrough, the first big twist of the afternoon came midway through the first half. Blackburn equalised against Millwall in London and West Brom, who were winning 1-0 at Swansea through Okay Yokuslu, were suddenly above Millwall and into sixth place on goals scored. Swansea swiftly equalised, though, and a second from Watmore and an Oliver Burke strike had Millwall 3-1 up, with Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson later calling them “stupid goals” to concede. Those efforts, coupled with Cameron Archer’s goal to make it 1-1 at the Riverside between Boro and Coventry, actually saw the Lions go fifth and the Sky Blues in sixth spot at half-time. Sunderland, meanwhile, were three points off the play-offs after a “basketball game” of a first 45 minutes at Preston, which somehow ended goalless.
The second halves brought unexpected drama as Blackburn – winless in eight games – mounted a comeback for the ages, and Sunderland suddenly stirred into action at Deepdale. Joe Rankin-Costello pulled one back for Rovers to make it 3-2 against Millwall in the 51st minute and three minutes later Amad Diallo curled in an absolute peach to give the Black Cats a 1-0 lead against Preston. Alex Pritchard then doubled Sunderland’s advantage and then proceedings notched up a level in south-east London. Rovers forward Ben Brereton Diaz fired in from the edge of the area to make it 3-3 – with his goal having big repercussions. Coventry suddenly regained fifth place as Millwall dropped to seventh, to be replaced in sixth by a Sunderland side who swiftly went 3-0 up as Jack Clarke netted.
All attention was now on The Den, where Millwall – having thrown away a two-goal lead – had to score to salvage their season. But the Lions were struggling as Brereton Diaz rattled an upright before seeing a header cleared off the underside of the bar. And, as Millwall continued to pour forward in the closing five minutes, Blackburn finally broke the hearts of the home support. After Rovers keeper Aynsley Pears kept out a Tyler Burey effort, the visitors swiftly countered with Sammie Szmodics sending in a low cross for Chile international Brereton Diaz to tap in unmarked at the back post. From 3-1 up at the break to 4-3 behind, Millwall had seemingly thrown away a play-off place. With just four minutes plus stoppages remaining Sunderland were firmly in the driving seat, with Blackburn behind them on goal difference and Millwall now needing two goals to dislodge the Wearsiders. The stunned Lions could not even manage to get one back, with disappointment and long faces the order of the day in Bermondsey at full-time.
Sunderland could celebrate at Deepdale after seeing out a 3-0 success, and the Black Cats now have the first leg of their semi-final against Luton Town to look forward to on Saturday. Boss Tony Mowbray was “delighted” for their supporters, who could yet witness back-to-back promotions through the play-offs. “It’s an incredible scenario to see the people of Sunderland enjoying their football so much and coming in their huge numbers,” he added. “It’s been a tough few years for Sunderland fans, with a team who have been in the Premier League in the not-too-distant past. It was a long, long fall but I feel we are on the road back.”
Following their 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough, Coventry boss Mark Robins toasted a “phenomenal achievement” amid off-pitch ownership and stadium issues which have bubbled in the background this season. “It was an outstanding and brilliant achievement considering all the rubbish we have had to put up with,” he told BBC CWR. “The new ownership, Doug [King], must be thanking his lucky stars. Hopefully we are three games away from something really, really special.” The Sky Blues will again face Middlesbrough, this time for a place at Wembley, with the first leg on Sunday.
The play-offs have provided plenty of drama since their inception in 1986-87, but have plenty to live up to after an unforgettable last day of the regular Championship campaign.